Critical Pro-Israel Funding Contained in Omnibus Bill

AIPAC applauds Congress for including key provisions to help Israel address critical security challenges in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2017. The bill provides $3.1 billion plus an additional $75 million in overall security assistance to Israel.

The bill also contains $600.7 million for vital joint U.S.-Israel missile defense programs, representing a $113 million increase over FY 2016.

$268.7 million in research and development funding for U.S.-Israel cooperative missile and rocket defense programs;

$62 million for procurement of the Iron Dome rocket defense system;

$150 million for procurement of the David's Sling missile defense system; and

$120 million for procurement of the Arrow-3 missile defense system.

The legislation provides for a majority of these procurement funds to be spent in the United States. In addition, Congress included $42.5 million for continued U.S.-Israel joint development of technologies to address the complex challenge of locating, mapping and destroying terrorist tunnel networks.

The bill also includes a provision that reduces aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) on a dollar-for-dollar basis for any support the PA, the Palestine Liberation Organization and any successor or affiliated organization provides to Palestinian terrorists or their families.